July 5th 2009

July 5th was a completely different day than the 4th. It was hot, sunny, and perfect. AT opened her presents and did the wrapping paper romp.

We broke in the Cornhole boards I built for the occaision and played JON's goofy golf.

The boys enjoyed the trampoline that GT brought all the way from TX. We had fun assembling it, especially GT & MT while the played the honking game.

4th of July 2009

It rained all day on the third. It was cloudy and cold on the 4th. We made it up to 74° for a high. Our old neighbors the T's drove up from Texas and we had a big party on the deck. Once we got going, we had four guys lighting stuff for three hours non-stop. I even pre-rigged our artillery shells so that we could launch three at a time. The view from the deck was fantastic. We had a panorama view of the entire neighborhood. We had not only our own show, but six others to watch all night.

Clouds

Blue sky, red #25 filter, and contrast tuning make for some nice cloud shots.

Homestead Days

We hit Homestead Days this year at the Homestead National Monument in Beatrice. This was the first time we had been to the new facility; it's really nice.
There were a bunch of civil war things there this year. The Calvary guy above is regular US Army and had just returned from Afghanistan. He belongs to a horse company out of Ft. Riley, KS. They do all the ceremonial events throughout the US, and even got to ride in the inaugural parade.

All of the displays were very hands-on. The boys got to handle muskets and sabres and even got to load a cannon. They made a hemp rope, learned how to start a fire with flint & steel, and watched a blacksmith make stuff. Their favorite attraction was an old push reel mower.

We got some information about enlisting in the reenactment army. CP is fired up and ready for battle.

A Day in the Country

After Gramma's funeral, we spent a day at M & C's with the close family. The boys swam in the koi pond with the dogs while we played cornhole and and enjoyed the fabulous day.

C took us for a ride on his pontoon boat around the lake. The boys all rode Mabel and had a good time.

We ended the day with a backyard campfire, marshmallows, and ASU in the college world series on the big screen. Gramma would have loved it.

A Death in the Family

JP's Gramma passed away at the end of May. She didn't feel well one day and within three days she was gone without any suffering. We were sad to see her go and will miss her deeply. She lived a full life and was always ready to go.

All of the family came in from the four corners of the states to Chicago for the funeral and then went out to JP's cousins' place in Mt. Carroll. It was great to see everyone again.

Blank Slate

JP is ready to get going on the back yard. Our neighbor just installed four new trees and is getting a new concrete patio poured on Monday. We took the panorama picture so that we can start designing our dream yard.

Romulan Ale

Last night, we went with the boys and our neighbors to see the new Star Trek movie. JO'N made up some Romulan Ale for the occasion. The movie was absolutely fantastic! CP liked it, but GP said he was a little lost because he knew none of the characters.
Live long and prosper.

UNL 1/4-Scale Tractor

This week the guys from the UNL 1/4-Scale Tractor Team brought their new 2009 tractor down to Beatrice for us all to see. We have been helping them out with scrap iron, laser-cut parts and powder coat. Two of the guys in the lab were on the team when they were in school. One of them designed our own "Exmark Skunk Works" decal for special projects like this. Its on the frame in the lower right corner of the picture above.

The team competes against other schools. The entire tractor was designed and built by students in the ag engineering program. The whole thing was drawn up in CAD and modeled in 3D. It has three 16 hp Briggs & Stratton engines running into a gearbox that goes into an electrically controlled CVT and then into the 4X4 transfer case. The engines must be left completely stock, and everyone uses the same fuel for competitions.

Winning the actual pulling event is only half of the program. Points are awarded for design, execution, sound levels, style, safety, etc. I think it's a great program.

Back in the Saddle

After the Mayor's Run on Saturday, we got back to work on the deck. Last weekend, I sanded and painted three boards and then it started raining. It rained, fogged, and misted all week long. The stain I had applied only partially sunk in, so I had to sand the boards again. I sanded all day and JP was able to finish up the stain. We had a gorgeous day with enough sun to toast my back.

On Sunday, JP was in the mood to do more outside work. We set out on a quest for some flower pots for the front porch. We didn't find any, but we found a beautiful weeping spruce at Campbell's for Mother's Day (and Father's Day, too). It doesn't look like much here (by the corner of the house), but it's taller than me.

After digging in the dirt for a while, we got the deck reassembled and officially opened it for the season with our neighbors.

Mayor's Run

This Saturday was the annual Mayor's Run, a one-mile jog around the state capitol grounds for K thru 6th graders. We did this last year when it was in the 20's. This year we had absolutely perfect weather.  

The boys really enjoyed the run.  Everything here has been done hundreds of times before, so all the bugs have been worked out.  Everyone here in Lincoln in in their comfort zone: nothing new, no surprises, etc.  This makes for some really well-run events.

Piano Recital

Today the boys had their first piano recital. Both did well. CP played The PInk Panther, and GP played the Raiders of the Lost Ark March. We celebrated with two large fries from Runza. Mmmmmmmm.

JP has been sanding and staining the deck all week. Each day she has been able to complete three or four boards. I thought I would help and do my share. I got three boards sanded Saturday AM, but it started raining before the stain dried, and it's been raining for the last 30 hours with no end in sight. It will take a week for the bare boards to dry out now.

Wood Badge C-52-09

This weekend I completed the second weekend of my Wood Badge scout leadership program. I did the first 3-day weekend three weeks ago, and this 3-day weekend finished it off. We had rain, wind, and blistering sunshine (I actually got sunburned). We hung tarps on the shelter to give us some relief from the endless wind.

I was in the Bobwhite patrol with four other scout leaders. We had the coolest campsite of all the patrols: matching tents all lined up and a fancy entryway gate. I spent last week working on our gate sign, which I lasered out of 16 gage steel.

I am glad to have the training portion of Wood Badge behind me. Now all I have to do is to "work my ticket" and complete the five major projects I volunteered for within the next 18 months.

Easter Weekend

Gramma & Grampa came to Lincoln for Easter weekend. We had a nice day with a breeze, so we went out and flew the boys' new kites. CP has a helicopter, and GP has a six-foot dragon. Both flew very well.

We found the Easter Bunny's little brother (sister?) in one of our window wells. The boys reestablished his home under the air conditioner.

Gramma helped out coloring eggs. Grampa & I helped eat them. Yummy.

Maggie's Stitches

JP took Maggie in to get a big red wart thing removed. She came home with a lampshade collar, but managed to escape from it within five minutes. JP finally ended up putting a shirt on her to keep her from chewing on her stitches.

Texas Party

We had a party for our neighbors that are moving to Texas. Everyone brought a dish and we dined on pulled pork, baked beans, biscuits & gravy, and too many sweet things.

Last weekend I spent 56 hours at a scout training camp and this week was hell on earth at work. Both spilled over onto Saturday, so I was glad to cut loose with our Texas party. I searched all over Lincoln & Beatrice for some cowboy clothes. During my quest, I found a huge gold-plated "Puerto Rico" redneck belt buckle for JO'N. I, too, wanted to get a big shiny rodeo buckle, but when I saw a 1977 Kansas "Point of Know Return" buckle, I knew it had found me. I found a pearl-snap shirt, a belt for the buckle, and a pair of cowboy boots, all for under $20. Instead of searching, JP just made herself an outfit on the sewing machine.

We will greatly miss our neighbors when they go to Texas.